


How to Make a Blanket Fort 101

by goingtothetardis



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Beaming like idiots at each other, Cuddling, F/M, Flirting, Fluff, Heavy Snogging, Kissing, Nutella, Prompt Fic, SO MUCH FLUFF, Seriously you'll get cavities, Tooth Rotting Fluff, blanket fort, lots of teasing and flirting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-28
Updated: 2018-04-28
Packaged: 2019-04-29 01:10:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14461848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goingtothetardis/pseuds/goingtothetardis
Summary: When the Doctor and Rose visit Jackie and find her absent, Rose suggests an activity to keep them entertained while they wait for Jackie's return.





	How to Make a Blanket Fort 101

**Author's Note:**

> I got an anonymous prompt on tumblr for Ten/Rose cuddling in a blanket fort. This was supposed to me 5 sentences. It is not 5 sentences. 
> 
> You will also probably get many cavities, because this is nothing but tooth rotting fluff.
> 
> Thanks to SelenaTerna for the quick read through and Brit-speak corrections. Lol.
> 
> P.S. And yes, some of the references in this are taken from the new Target books. The Doctor and Rose "beaming at each other like idiots" is canon. Fight me.

Rose, batting the Doctor and his sonic screwdriver away, unlocks the door to Jackie’s flat and calls out for her mother as she steps inside. “Mum?” 

The Doctor follows Rose over the threshold, letting the door slam behind him in the way he knows drives Jackie absolutely mad. 

Silence greets them instead of a flurry of Jackie’s rather enthusiastic reunion hugs and –  _ eugh _ – kisses. Rose stops at the end of the hallway and looks about the flat, calling out for Jackie once more. “Mum? You in? Me an’ the Doctor are here for a visit.”

The Doctor scans the flat with his sonic. “Hmmm, I don’t think she’s here, Rose.”

“Yeah, kinda got that.” Rose sighs and shrugs her shoulders before walking into the kitchen. She heads straight to the kettle and sets it to boil. 

“Tea!” the Doctor exclaims. “The answer to all the mysteries in good ol’ London Town.”

“Don’t knock it,” Rose says, pulling a few mugs out of the cupboard. “Saved your life, it did.”

The Doctor, ever as always drawn to Rose, strolls to her side and leans against the counter, swiping a jar of Nutella off the surface. “I told you, Rose,” he starts, pausing as he unscrews the lid and dips a finger inside. “I wasn’t dying.  _ Well, _ I did. Die, that is. But all those free radicals and tannins helped heal the synapses of this brand new me! We’ve been over this.”

“Doctor, Mum’s gonna cut your fingers off if she catches you doing that again,” Rose says, clearly choosing to ignore his previous statement as her gaze shifts pointedly between his fingers and the jar. 

Pausing for a moment, the Doctor considers the risks versus benefits of his current predicament, before deciding the Nutella is worth a proper telling off from his mother-in- 

_ Errr.  _

Jackie. From Jackie. 

Ignoring both the way the tips of his ears turn red and the speculative expression Rose gives him, the Doctor dips his fingers in the jar again and sticks the gooey chocolate mess in his mouth, noting with pleased curiosity when Rose’s eyes glaze over for a moment. 

With a shake of her head, she comes back to herself. “At your own risk.”

The Doctor hums in satisfaction when he once more swirls three fingers in the chocolate spread, returns them in his mouth, and slowly removes them as his tongue laps up every remaining bit of chocolate. “Mmm, not if she doesn’t find out.”

Rose’s jaw falls slack as she watches him, and he delights in the pink flush that rises from beneath her shirt and up her neck. He wonders for a brief moment what Nutella would taste like on Rose’s skin before banishing that thought. 

No need for daydreams like  _ that _ in Jackie’s kitchen. Plus, those thoughts are strictly off limits. No badly how much he wants… how much he desires… how much he thinks Rose does as well… he just… can’t. 

He can’t. Time Lord and all that.

Rose clears her throat and turns back to the kettle as it clicks off, the water ready and boiling. “Wonder where Mum’s got off too?” she wonders absently, carefully pouring water into the mugs. 

“Oh, I’m sure Jackie’s fine,” the Doctor says, wiping his (clean) fingers on his suit and tucking the jar of Nutella inside his pocket for a snack to enjoy at a later time, away from Jackie’s prying eyes. “She’s probably off at Tesco making eyes at  _ ooooh,  _ what’s his name?  _ Mr. Canten! _ Mr. Canten from across the way. Can’t the poor bloke work a till in peace, Rose?” 

Rose rolls her eyes at him, then brightens as she hands him his perfectly prepared tea. Five sugars and a dash of milk. “Oh! What day is it?”

“Wednesday, November the 14th, 2007.”

“Ah, Wednesday. Wine and chips night. She’ll be off with Bev and the others for hours.” 

The Doctor raises an eyebrow and sips his tea, humming in pleasure as it hits his taste buds. “Well, then, if Jackie’s not here, let’s be off! We can come back another time!”

“Doctor,” Rose says, and he flinches at the warning in her voice. “Mrs. Marshall saw us come up the stairs. She’ll tell Mum we were here, and I  _ know _ you don’t want to have that phone conversation.”

“But Rose, she’s not here, and we’ve got a time machine! She’ll never know. We can be back by the time she returns.” 

Leveling him with a stern glare, the one that he pretends to be offended by but in reality quite secretly enjoys, Rose scoffs. “Mum’ll always know. She always finds out, Doctor, an’ even if she never finds out we were here, she’ll blame you for nicking her Nutella.”

“Just because I brought you back one year late is not a good enough reason to blame me  _ all  _ the time.” He’s pouting, now, but doesn’t really care.

Rose giggles. “You  _ did _ just hear yourself, right? Plus, you know Mum. She likes blaming you for stuff. Gives her someone to point her finger at and lecture. I’ve had enough of that all my life.” 

The Doctor sighs and pulls out the jar of Nutella, moodily placing it back on the counter.

“Nah,” Rose says, smirking into her cup. “Might as well take it. ‘S got your fingerprints all over it.” 

“Time Lords don’t have–”

“She’ll see that  _ someone,”  _ Rose continues, ignoring him  _ again, _ “swiped Nutella out with his fingers, and you know what happened when you tried that with Mum’s last jar of strawberry jam from Cousin Mo.”

The Doctor cringes, remembering Jackie’s rage, and with a sniff, he returns the Nutella to his pocket. “So, if we’re not leaving, what exactly do you have planned?” He sighs loudly, a long suffering thing to make sure Rose understands how domestic this all is and how very much he’d like to return to the TARDIS.

Rose hums, crinkling her brow in consideration as she grabs her mug from the counter and wanders into the living room. Suddenly, she turns to him with a smile, her eyes bright with excitement. “A fort. A blanket fort.” 

“A blanket fort.”

“Yeah! Used to make them all the time growing up. Me an’ Shareen’d bring all the blankets and pillows we had in the flat and built a fort in front of the telly using the chairs from the table. If we were good, Mum’d rent a few Disney movies for us to watch and get us some popcorn or sweets. Those were the best sleepovers.” The Doctor watches as Rose’s face lights up with the happiness of those childhood memories, and he realizes he wants to give that to her again.

“We can do that on the TARDIS, you know,” he says, attempting a last ditch effort to return to his ship, even though he knows it will end in failure. 

“‘S not the same,” Rose answers. “It’d be fun on the TARDIS, but I want to show you how  _ I _ did it. Next time we can make a fort on the TARDIS.”

“Oh, so we’re doing this again, are we?” He really only says it just to see her beautiful face flush with color. 

“Well… If you like. I’ll let you pick the movie,” Rose says with a cheeky grin. 

“So how does this work? I’ve never made a pillow fort before.” Oh, he has ideas  – many of them – but it’s clear Rose wants to take the lead on this, and he thinks some of his ideas might be a bit too… complicated for Jackie’s living room.

Rose eyes the Doctor briefly. “No sonic screwdriver.” At his squawk of protest, she elaborates. “In fact, maybe you should just put it in your jacket pocket and put your jacket in my bedroom. That way you won’t be tempted.”

He grumbles, but willingly follows Rose down the hall to her alarmingly pink bedroom. Once there, she holds out her hand, and he makes an exaggerated point of sticking his sonic in his pocket before shrugging the jacket of his shoulders. Rose giggles, then places it on the chair next to her dresser. As she does so, he rolls the sleeves of his shirt up and notices the way Rose’s gaze drifts to and lingers on his forearms. 

“Now,” she says after a moment and shakes her head. “Grab my pillows and I’ll take my blanket. In Mum’s room–”

The Doctor makes a face and interrupts. “We’re  _ not  _ building a blanket fort out of Jackie’s bed… things.”

Rose rolls her eyes. “In Mum’s room, there’s a  _ trunk _ with extra blankets. I’ll grab two or three from there. An’ don’t worry, they’re clean. No Mum germs.”

The Doctor sniffs, not quite believing her claims. 

Several minutes later they meet in the living room, arms laden with pillows and blankets. Rose beams at the Doctor, and he can’t help but mirror her smile. “So, Rose Tyler,” he says, dragging out her name in the way that makes her blush. His smile widens when it achieves his desired effect. “Blanket Fort Making 101.”

Rose unceremoniously drops the pillows and blankets on the floor and immediately jumps into a lecture about chair placement, blanket draping, and the use of pillows as floor cover. Ever the quick and eager learner, the Doctor follows her cues, enthusiastically adding his own ideas to make their fort even better. 

Finally, a proper blanket fort stands in front of them, and Rose snaps her fingers. “Snacks. You probably won’t last long without all your nibbles and things. Can we raid the TARDIS kitchen? We’ll need movies, too.” 

“What, we’re not allowed to use the TARDIS to make a fort, but we can eat snacks from her kitchen?” The Doctor mumbles as he fiddles with the television. “Rose, if you’ll allow me to use the sonic, I can tune the telly into the same galactic stream the TARDIS uses, and that way we’ll have access to your favorite channels.”

“Yeah, okay,” Rose agrees, nodding at the telly. “An’ I know we could just go to Tesco, but I really want that popcorn from Traglor. You know, the pink kind that sorta tastes like bubblegum and strawberries? I bought a new package the last time we were there. Ooooh, and the case of cream fizzy drink! Those would be lovely.”

“Spoiled, Rose Tyler. You are  _ spoiled,” _ the Doctor jokes good naturedly as he stands and makes his way to Rose’s room to collect the sonic screwdriver. 

“Well, if I’m spoiled, it’s your fault.” Rose smiles a tongue touched grin at him. “Takin’ me to all those beautiful places and introducing me to all the wonderful things the universe has to offer. After eating Tragloran popcorn, I’m not sure if I could ever go back to the kind from Tesco.”

The Doctor holds out his hand for Rose as they walk to the front door “Oh,  _ my _ fault. I see how it is.”

Rose bumps his shoulder with a giggle. “Yup, all your fault.” She runs her hand up his forearm, making his sensitive skin tingle at her touch. Maybe he should go jacketless more often.

Hands swinging between them, they laugh and joke together on the way to the TARDIS, and he waits in the console room as Rose rushes to the kitchen. Several minutes later, she returns with a several reusable shopping bags filled with whatever treats the TARDIS kitchen offered.  

“Blimey, Rose. Your blanket fort isn’t bigger on the inside. Where are you going to put all that?” 

Rose sighs at him in exasperation. “We can  _ leave _ the fort, you know. Get stuff from the kitchen.” 

The Doctor grumbles about the inconvenience of extracting themselves from their cozy fort to fetch themselves more nibbles as they leave the TARDIS and walk back to Jackie’s flat. It’s easy banter between them, the kind that flows naturally. 

“You know, if I make a blanket fort on the TARDIS, I can use some Time Lord jiggery-pokery,” he pauses here, winking at Rose with a click of his tongue, “and make it bigger on the inside.” 

“Sounds a bit Harry Potter to me,” Rose says, shoving a few bags in his empty hands as they make their way up the stairs. 

“Time Lord, Rose. Who do you think gave them the concept of bigger on the inside? Took the magical world a while, but they finally figured it out.”

Rose stops in her tracks and stars at him. “Doctor… Are you yankin’ my chain? Because that’s just not right.”

He grins. “Maybe I am.” He tilts his head toward Jackie’s flat and continues walking. “But maybe I’m not.”

Rose huffs behind him, but follows, remaining silent when he buzzes them into the flat with his sonic. He fully expects her to bring the subject of magic at a later time, even if for now, she’s choosing to ignore it.  They carry the bags of food into the kitchen, and as she sorts out the food on the counter, Rose hums a little ditty they’d heard on a tiny planet he can’t even remember the name of, because he’d been so distracted by Rose singing merrily along with the locals. He sings along with Rose, making up random phrases that quickly have Rose bent over with giggles. 

“Doctor, stop, I can’t breathe,” Rose gasps, grabbing onto his arm. 

The Doctor watches Rose, her face alight with happiness and amusement, and he decides to act on instinct, to follow the path his hearts have been telling him to take for ages, one the crusty old Time Lord voice inside him continues to tell him not to follow. 

Grasping Rose around the waist, he pulls her up with one arm and pushes her fringe back away from her face. Then he gently grazes her lips with his thumb, and she gasps, flicking wide eyes to him. She doesn’t pull away, so encouraged, he leans down and presses his lips against hers. 

Rose moans against his lips and pushes herself against him, and he wraps both arms around her waist to stabilize himself. He’s quickly lost in the sensation. For so long he’s wondered about how those lips would taste on his, and now he catalogues everything. The lingering taste of tea, the biscuit she’d eaten on the TARDIS before they first arrived, a faint sweetness he decides is simply  _ Rose… _ They’re soft, so soft, and without telling his brain to initiate the activity, his hands wander up and down her back. It’s a bit sloppy, this kiss, unrefined and spontaneous, and his nose squishes rather uncomfortably into Rose’s cheekbone. But it’s  _ brilliant. _ Fantastic. Molto bene. 

Finally, Rose pulls away breathing heavily, her chest heaving up and down. A quick flash of masculine pride flashes through him at the sight of Rose’s dazed eyes and well-kissed lips. 

As if in shock, her fingers trace her lips, and her brow furrows. “Did you just… You just kissed me,” she says, staring at him.

“I did, yes.” He grins at her, sticking his hands in his pockets and rolling back on his heels. 

“Why?” Eyes widening, she claps her hand over her mouth. “No, not why. I mean, yes–  _ Why? _ Why now? I thought maybe… But I wasn’t sure… An’ then– Oh, blimey.”

The Doctor steps back into Rose’s space and cups her cheek. “You looked so beautiful laughing, and I decided to start ignoring the annoying voice in my head telling me all the reasons why we shouldn’t.”

Rose smiles. “About time.”

They beam at each other like idiots for a moment before the Doctor looks past Rose’s shoulder to the nibbles on the counter. “As much as I’d love to continue getting to know your lovely lips, we should probably move this into the blanket fort. We do have time before Jackie gets home, right?” He doesn’t even try to keep the fear out of his voice.

“Yeah, we should. An’ if we’re lucky, she might find a bloke or go home with Bev.” She pauses, then grins mischeviously at the Doctor. “Why? Scared Mum’ll find you in a domestic situation?”

_ Yes. _

“ _ Nah… _ But I don’t know how Jackie will react to a 900-year old Time Lord cuddling her daughter.” The Doctor spins Rose around, and together they gather the snacks and walk to their fort. 

“Doctor, hate to break it to you, but Mum already thinks we’re shagging.”

He splutters, letting out a useless squawk. 

Rose laughs. “Thought we were before you regenerated, too.”

His jaw falls open. Now this,  _ this, _ is terrifying news. “Well… Maybe it’s time we set that rumor true.” The Doctor holds his breath as he waits for Rose’s response. 

Rose sets the tray of snacks down and turns to him, running her fingers over the buttons on his shirt. “As much as I approve of that plan, we’re not doing that until we’re back on the TARDIS.”

His hearts hammer wildly in his chest. “ _ Well…  _ We could go. _ ” _

“Nice try, Doctor, but I still want to see Mum, and it’d be terrible to let this brilliant fort go to waste.”

“Oh, all right,” he sighs, and bends down to crawl inside. 

Rose arranges the snacks so they’ll be easy to reach outside of the blankets and joins him inside the fort. After a few moments of wiggling around to position the pillows and blankets around her, she settles in at his side. The Doctor muses yet again about how  _ perfectly _ she fits there as he flicks his sonic at the telly and turns it to one of Rose’s Harry Potter movie remakes. 

“I was hoping, you know,” she murmurs quietly against his chest. 

“Hoping for what?”

“Hoping you’d, I dunno, let go of whatever was holdin’ you back and let  _ this _ happen. This between us. I know…” She pauses and takes a deep breath. “I know you’re the last of the Time Lords and have this responsibility. You mentioned a curse, even. I wanted you to decide for yourself, even though I knew it might never happen.”

“I didn’t think it would,” he admits, though the revelation hurts more than a little bit. He’d been so prepared to keep going without this, but now, knowing how much Rose had wanted it too… There’s no going back. 

He tilts Rose’s chin up and kisses her, trying to pour all the feelings he has for Rose into the kiss. There’s a lot he still can’t say, probably won’t ever be able to say out loud, even though he  _ does. So much.  _

But the Universe isn’t kind, and he’s already terrified that allowing  _ this _ will invite disaster and tragedy. It always seems to happen when he lets down his walls. 

“Hey, stop,” Rose whispers against his lips. “I know you’re thinking a million thoughts a minute, but just let it go for now. We’re here, right now. Just be here, Doctor.”

She’s right. So right. 

“I’m sorry, Rose,” he says, properly ashamed. “I allowed myself to get distracted from exploring your luscious lips, and that is, quite frankly, unacceptable.” 

Rose laughs. “Too right, Doctor. I think more scientific exploration is required. You know, if you  _ really _ want to know how to kiss me the right way.” Her cheeky grin suggests she’s just pushing his buttons in the way only she can, but he takes the bait. Hook, line, and sinker. 

“Are you suggesting I’m not kissing you the ‘right way’?” he asks, growling softly as he shifts to hover above her. 

“Hmmm, dunno. Guess you’d better figure it out.” Her voice is breathless, her pupils blown wide as she stares at him, and the Doctor experiences the first stirrings of arousal. He tamps them down, determined to wait until they’re back on the TARDIS, but that intoxicating blend of pheromones surrounding them makes it very difficult. 

Both of them thoroughly ignoring the movie, they lose themselves in each other, kissing frantically, letting tongues and teeth explore and nip and provoke more tempting pleasure, and hands travel unchecked over bodies. For the first time, his hands slip under her shirt, touching the soft skin of her belly, and he makes note of each gasp and each moan and sound of pleasure that Rose makes. 

It’s so tempting to bring her to completion, but a well established fear of Jackie walking in on them holds his eager fingers (and mouth) back. 

The music crescendos on the television before moving to the end credits, and Rose looks up in confusion. “‘S it over already?”

“Indeed, it is. Sorry I distracted you from the movie,” he says without any remorse.

“No complaints from me,” Rose says, yawning sleepily. 

The Doctor rolls back over and pats his chest, inviting Rose to settle back against him. She does so, eagerly, and as soon as she’s situated, she exhales a contented sigh. “You know, we really should have started doing this ages ago.

Humming in agreement, the Doctor squeezes her tight against him before relaxing. Rose slowly drifts off in his arms, and though he’s determined to stay awake so Jackie doesn’t catch them like this when she returns, his eyes start to fall shut. Snogging and cuddling a gorgeous woman named Rose is the perfect invitation for a peaceful night of much needed sleep. 

He drifts into slumber with Rose’s smile in his thoughts.

* * *

 

Jackie turns the lock in her door and frowns. Unlocked. That’s odd. She’s  _ positive _ she locked it before leaving for wine night. 

Holding the umbrella she’d brought with her in a threatening position, Jackie steps inside her flat. From the living room, music plays softly from the telly.  _ Someone is here. _ For a brief moment she wonders if it’s Rose, but no– Her daughter had taken to sleeping on the TARDIS, even when they visit. 

Jackie tiptoes down the hallway to the living room, and when she rounds the corner, she stops in her tracks. The umbrella falls with a dull thud to the ground. 

There’s a blanket fort in her living room, built over the sofa and around the telly. Snacks sit on the coffee table, and after a brief inspection, she determines they haven’t been touched. Jackie pokes the pink popcorn warily, certain now that her daughter is home for an unexpected visit.  

The room is dark, lit only by the sink light that drifts in from the kitchen, but she moves forward nevertheless, hooking her finger around the edge of a blanket and pulling it back to see the occupants inside. 

The sight in front of her brings tears to her eyes. The Doctor and Rose sleep cuddled up together, cushioned comfortably by pillows and blanket, and much to her relief, they’re not naked. But the sight that strikes her most, even in the dim light, is the utter peace and contentment on both of their faces. Even in sleep, they’re drawn to each other, each in the protective embrace of the other. 

Jackie has to admit – as much as she hates to do so – that these two belong to each other, wholly and completely. They love each other, whether or not they want to admit it to each other, and she somehow knows that there’s been a shift in their relationship since the last time she saw Rose. And despite her initial misgivings about the Doctor, despite the year of (unintentional) utter  _ hell _ he’d put her through, she’s happy for them. So unbelievably happy, it surprises even herself. 

The temptation to wake them both and embarrass the Doctor is strong, but they deserve this moment, this quiet slice of peace in the mad life they live together. As a tear trickles down her cheek, Jackie lets the blanket fall. She turns and walks down the hall to her room. 

She’ll embarrass him in the morning. For now, it’s time for bed. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Find me at goingtothetardis.tumblr.com!


End file.
